Georgia Homeless Shelter Denies Access To Gays, Lesbians

A faith-based homeless shelter in Columbus, Ga. is drawing attention this week for closing its doors to gay individuals in need after kicking out two women they suspected were romantically involved.

"[Homosexuality] is not tolerated here at all. Let me tell you one reason why: because of the Bible, of course. And then we have little children," House of Mercy director Bobby Harris told WRBL.

The women, who were reportedly fleeing an abusive household with their children, claim that they aren't actually gay, but Harris appeared to suggest that one of the women had breached protocol by going to "practice their acts," alluding to homosexuality. Harris said gay people who do not express their sexual orientation are welcome at the House of Mercy.

Change.org questions the soundness of the religious reasoning behind this practice of exclusion, and has launched a petition targeting the policy, and Harris, here.

WATCH (via WRBL):

Comments

[hwjone]

10:36 PM on 01/22/2011

Matthew 25: 35-40 "‘For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; 36 naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’ 37 “Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? 38 ‘And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? 39 ‘When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ 40 “The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’ "

Where can I finf those Bibles that leaves out quotes like this?

[Janet Lynn Mckee]

10:34 AM on 01/22/2011

I can not believe how this story is has gotten so twisted. My family was residents of this shelter from July 2008 till Jan. 2009 and they allow NO fornication of any kind, homosexual or heterosexual. They serve 100's of homeless people in the community most who have drug addictions. They have very strict rules to keep order in THEIR program which receives NO government money. During our stay there were MANY gay and lesbian residents who followed the rules and were treated with love, respect, and kindness and were not put out because of their sexual orientation. WORD!

[bipolarcat452]

12:42 PM on 01/22/2011

This may be the case, however if they now practice discrimination against homeless LGBT persons then they need to be served with papers showing them to be in violation of Federal Law if not a hefty lawsuit as well.

[Naithom]

02:49 PM on 01/23/2011

Hate to break it to you but they get quite a bit of their money from the government. And because they take money from public sources, they have to follow federal civil rights laws.

Here's their tax forms:
http://www.bilerico.com/2011/01/2009-house-of-mercy.pdf
To file a 990 means that at least 1/3 of their income comes from the government.

And the state of Georgia is giving them a $75,000 grant
http://www.georgia.gov/00/press/detail/0,2668,78006749_160096907_160266268,00.html

Section 16, pertaining to the Department of Community Affairs, page 31, line 906:
The General Assembly seeks to earmark $75,000 for the House of Mercy in Columbus in the Special Housing Initiatives program. The department is authorized to operate the program in accordance with the purpose of the program and its general law powers of the Department.

[CoastalNC]

11:31 AM on 01/21/2011

So how do they explain Jesus saying "love one another", "judge not that ye be not judged", etc. or does that only apply to the "proper" people.

[Naithom]

02:49 PM on 01/23/2011

Apparently they skipped that part.

[troyrobertdavid]

10:02 AM on 01/21/2011

So heartwarming to see how compassionate the church can be. So nice to see how far we’ve come. Jesus would be proud. NOT!

[williamclinton]

04:53 PM on 01/21/2011

hummmmmmmmmmm......imagine that, someone that would not lower the bar.

[DCMetroGuy]

05:27 PM on 02/03/2011

Actually....if you read the bible he liked to hang out with the sinners. SO by thier own words on here the Christians are saying Jesus would be hanging out with us...not them

[Lisaexclaimed]

03:41 AM on 01/20/2011

I'm pretty sure Jesus would not be amused with this guy. If the director thought it was so awful why didn't he try to talk to them about it instead of kicking them out? If being gay is so wrong, would he convince people by throwing them out into the freaking cold? He could have took them aside and told them "We believe that homosexuality is a sin, blah blah abomination blah blah blah knock it off blah blah" (I'm not saying being gay is a sin, please don't infer I agree with him or even that one should have to hide that they're gay so they dont freeze -what an awful man)

[sLUCIDITy]

03:17 AM on 01/20/2011

"Let me tell you one reason why: because of the Bible"

Not a valid reason sonny. That book condones all manner of he!nous and desp!cable acts. Sl@very, gen0cide, anf@nticide, etc.

One of the most b@rbaric books in history.

I've read it 4 times. I know exactly how h0rrif!c it is.

[williamclinton]

04:54 PM on 01/21/2011

hummm....4 times and you have not understood the message yet, read it again.

[Kimberly Hasler]

01:39 AM on 01/22/2011

Yes, keep reading it..we will pray that God enlightens you to his understanding, as it is a magnificent book, the best ever written! May God be with you always in your search!!

[jrb35]

12:56 PM on 01/22/2011

Best book ever written?

1. Leviticus 25:44 states that I may possess slaves, both male and
female, provided they are from neighboring nations.

2. Exodus 21:7 sanctions selling one's daughter into slavery. In this day and age, what do you think would be a fair price for her?

3. I know that I am allowed no contact with a woman while she is in her
period of Menstrual uncleanliness - Lev.15: 19-24. The problem is how
do I tell? I have tried asking, but most women take offense.

4. I have a neighbor who insists on working on the Sabbath. Exodus
35:2 clearly states he should be put to death. Am I morally obligated
to kill him myself, or should I ask the police to do it?

5. A friend of mine feels that even though eating shellfish is an
abomination, Lev. 11:10, it is a lesser abomination than
homosexuality. I don't agree. Can you settle this? Are there
'degrees' of abomination?

6. Lev. 21:20 states that I may not approach the altar of God if I
have a defect in my sight. I have to admit that I wear reading
glasses. Does my vision have to be 20/20, or is there some wiggle-room
here?

7. Most of my male friends get their hair trimmed, including the hair
around their temples, even though this is expressly forbidden by Lev.
19:27. How should they die?

Originally written by
James M. Kauffman, Ed.D. Professor Emeritus, UVA

[dadw5boys]

01:50 AM on 01/20/2011

They got over $326,000 Dollars in Government Grants in 2009.
Grants usually increase. 990 Tax forms appears they hand of a lot of cash.

[AmericanMark]

12:31 AM on 01/20/2011

It's their church, not change.org - whatever that is. If change.org is all so broken up about it, they can start their own homeless shelter specifically for gay people. Nobody's stopping them. Oh, right, that would entail manual labor, something the latte sipping seat polishers would probably run away from. It's much easier to attack religious people from the safety of their desks.

[dadw5boys]

01:51 AM on 01/20/2011

you take Government Grants you can not discriminate.

Want to discriminate return the Public's Money !!!!!!

[Mortifyd]

07:22 AM on 01/21/2011

You can't take federal money and discriminate. You want to be a bigot do it on your own dime.

[dmezz1962]

12:15 AM on 01/20/2011

Good for them. The Liberals love throwing "Separation of Church and State" EXCEPT when it goes against them. If this church runs their shelter then they can set the rules. They do say as long as you do not express their sexual orientation they are welcome so what's wrong with that policy.

See this is what is wrong with Gay's they want to be treated fairly and when a church says your welcome to come in just don't start kissing or holding hands then all the Gays get their panties wet because they are Outraged....To F'n bad!!!!

I have nothing at all against Gay people but OMG if I need a hand from someone and they say sure you can stay the night but in our house you have to take off your shoes I don't get upset saying "How Dare You Treat Me This way" I act respectful of their wishes because they are being nice enough to help me through a tough time.

[LynnW49]

01:17 AM on 01/20/2011

Take off your shoes.

[dadw5boys]

01:52 AM on 01/20/2011

Then don't take Government Grants. They got over $326,000 Dollars last year in Government Grants and they usually go up each year.

[carnitine]

11:40 PM on 01/19/2011

if it's their own coin and not from from state/local/federal then they can refuse who they want. Having said that I agree that gays shouldn't pratice their acts in public.

[LynnW49]

01:15 AM on 01/20/2011

We don't need practice. We're experts.

[carnitine]

01:21 AM on 01/20/2011

Funny

[zeotrope]

07:43 AM on 01/21/2011

Well said.

[dadw5boys]

01:53 AM on 01/20/2011

but they take government grants to operate.

[j70141]

10:30 PM on 01/19/2011

Just to clear up some possible misconceptions regarding this activity.

Christians are allowed to judge and take action against other Christians, especially within their own church and family. This includes shunning. - 1 Cor. 5:12

Christians however are not supposed to throw out, shunn, or judge non-believers. - Matt 7:1

What these people did was incorrect. The homeless shelter is supposed to provide testimony to non-christians regarding the benevolence of Christ, it is an outreach tool to try and save those who are lost. Throwing them out in this case was not the proper way to do it.

[DavidEm]

09:24 AM on 01/21/2011

Or, you could just follow the teachings of Jesus, and not hold onto biblical verses that go against them.

[Jeremyewilliams]

08:42 PM on 01/19/2011

Sad country.

[MyTurn2020]

08:16 PM on 01/19/2011

Just a few short weeks ago, our nation celebrated some of the highest of holy holidays, Christian and Jewish and just recently a faith-based homeless shelter has cast out two women in need of shelter because they suspected them of being gay. This type of horror still happens in Georgia. Twenty years ago it was the Oprah show shedding light on why blacks had'nt been allowed to live in Forsyth County, or the Wiley Dobbs vs. Zant case (look it up). I was born in Florida and have lived in northern cities like NYC, Chicago, and Detroit. There is discrimination everywhere, a sad fact and reflection on our nation but so true. What's so disturbing is the flagrant and extreme nature of the bias. It's like the south has evolved in segments.

[carnitine]

11:41 PM on 01/19/2011

Gay is not a race, why is that hard to understand?

[MyTurn2020]

12:11 AM on 01/20/2011

Gay, heterosexual, black, latino, white, etc. we are all part of the human race. That's what God created...man manufactured the divisiveness. It's not okay or legal to discriminate based on ANYTHING....race, class, gender, religion, etc.

[dmezz1962]

12:20 AM on 01/20/2011

Because if they claim they are a race it frees up so many more arguments for them to use.

Sorry If I need a handout I should be grateful enough for the person helping me to Respect his/her wishes

there is an old saying Beggars can't be choosers

[dadw5boys]

01:54 AM on 01/20/2011

and these people take Government Grants to operate.

[Bob Wood]

06:50 PM on 01/19/2011

There is no reason why churches or religious organizations should be tax exempt. All organizations should support themselves. If someone believes it...they should pay for it...(sigh)

[dadw5boys]

01:54 AM on 01/20/2011

they are using tax payers dollars from Grants.

[Janet Lynn Mckee]

10:09 AM on 01/22/2011

The House of Mercy does NOT take ANY money from the government. Not one dime. They are supported 100% from donations from churches and individuals.

[brenniewinters]

06:09 PM on 01/19/2011

Treated as if not human? I was taught love the sinner, hate the sin. I was taught judge not that you be not judged.Gays make this world a better place.Many religions include gays, so get with the times people.Do some research and find out about Gays in American History.